Beek tussen rotswanden 1907 - 1935

Adolphe Burdet made this photographic slide of a river between rocks sometime around the turn of the twentieth century. Looking at these three panels, I imagine Burdet carefully exposing these images, with the light revealing the rough texture of the rocks and the soft edges of the trees. The brown and grey tones make me think of early photography, where capturing color was still a distant dream. He must have stood there, camera in hand, trying to capture the depth and scale of the landscape. I feel a kinship with him, as someone who also tries to capture a sense of place and feeling, though with paint instead of a lens. There is an ongoing conversation between artists across time, we are constantly borrowing ideas and techniques, and each of us adds our own voice to the mix. Photography and painting, each medium offers different ways of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world, but also many that overlap.